Letter: Mathews Court House is ‘a true gem’

Fourth of July weekend found my 13-year-old son, Baynham, and I ready for an adventure. My wife Jani was away visiting her family in N.C. and we decided we would go for a Boy’s Weekend cruise on our 26-foot sailboat, Lily P. We surveyed our options and decided we would sail from our marina on the Piankatank River through Milford Haven, south to Mobjack Bay and the East River, and as far up Put-In Creek as we could go.

We had heard that on a high tide we might be able to dinghy right up behind the firehouse in downtown Mathews. As a back-up plan, our good friends, Kristen and Jon Ober, said their neighbors would let us tie up the dinghy to their dock.

Our trip from Deltaville was uneventful and we were excited as we putted up Put-In Creek toward Mathews. We were close to low tide approaching the head of the creek and unfortunately ran out of water well before the firehouse, but very close to our friends’ dock. We anchored in four-and-a-half feet of water and could just barely see The White Dog peeking over the trees at the head of the creek.

We rowed our dinghy ashore and met our friends who convinced us to stay for the weekend. We had a ball in Mathews: visiting downtown several times, provisioning at Food Lion, peeking in the windows at the library (unfortunately closed for the weekend) and eating sandwiches at Subway. Saturday night found us at Southwind for a great band, Mixed Grill. The pool at Jon and Kristen’s was definitely a highlight. Sunday night we watched the fireworks from the comfort of their air-conditioned SUV.

As we sailed back home Monday, I reflected on what a wonderful experience my son and I had had and lamented the fact that deeper draft boats didn’t have the option to reach a dock so close to town. What a shame that cruisers in the Bay and local boaters can’t reach all the wonderful businesses of downtown Mathews. I hope that county planners will look toward the future and dredge the end of the creek and remove the treatment plant to add a waterfront park and public access. What a true gem Mathews is. You shouldn’t keep it to yourselves.